Why I chose the JDRF, a look into Type-1 Diabetes:: Columbus, Ohio Mini Sessions
- Felecia Williams
- Nov 17, 2017
- 5 min read
Hi Everyone! Felecia here! This is my oldest son, Chase
Handsome little guy, isn't he? He is the little boy who made me a mommy, and completely turned my life around.
My husband and I weren't even sure we could have children, due to my Lupus and PCOS. However, God had other plans and surprised us with Chase.
My pregnancy was greeted with multiple issues, thanks in part to my lupus, but we never knew quite how it would affect Chase, at the time, nearly 10 years ago, we thought the threat was more to the mother. Now we know there are a multitude of things that can happen to the baby, and our other two boys were watched very closely.
When Chase was born, he was lethargic and late to cry. They had NICU come and assist him and found out his sugar was 47, which was dangerously low. When I finally got to hold him, he was pale, but crying. Throughout our week long stay in the hospital, Chase's sugar crashed 3 more times and we were send home with instructions on how to care for his hypoglycemia.
Here is Chase as a baby, he was always handsome, wasn't he?
As the year went on, Chase never seemed to really grow. In May 2009, Chase was a year old, and he was 16lbs and wearing 3-6 month clothing. I remember telling my friend Laura he had lost weight, and we were set to see a specialist (Ironically, an Endocrinologist) that August. He had an early diagnosis of "failure to thrive" and we thought it was a growth disorder.
2 weeks after his birthday party, Chase began to sleep more and more. He was always an active baby, so 3 and 4 naps a day was quite unusual. Then, he began to wet through diapers every hour, and would chug down bottles of water. When I called the doctor, and explained he was tired a lot but ALWAYS thirsty, they suggested giving him juice, thinking it was the hypoglycemia coming back. Then I remembered back to when I was in college and I was a student teacher. I had a student who was diabetic, and his mom had told me they discovered his because he was wetting the bed at 11, and always thirsty. I called my nurse friend and sure enough, she felt the same way. I took Chase to the hospital, and they agreed to draw blood work, but assured me it was the flu.
Just 4 hours later, we got the call that Chase's sugar was 486, and his ketone levels were through the roof.
We were in the hospitals short of 2 weeks, and spent the days learning a new language, a new way of parenting Chase and simply put, a new life. Our lives were flipped upside down. We quickly learned our insurance wasn't forgiving and none of Chase's medications would be covered until August when the new contract fell into place, and we needed to completely overhaul our grocery shopping, have safety nets in place in the even that Chase would get low, and quickly became overwhelmed.
One thing that got me through was the "Welcome to Holland" Poem by Emily Perl Kingsley
Yet, we would get "Oh Gosh, at least it's just diabetes and not something serious!" a LOT. Well, I'm here to tell you, it is VERY serious. We didn't even realize that ourselves until February 2011, when we almost lost Chase to diabetes.
Chase had recently started insulin pump therapy, and was doing wonderful. Well, we didn't see the infusion site had become disconnected one night, and as luck would have it, his sugar began to climb. Before we knew it, Chase went into a diabetic coma and wouldn't wake up one morning. We checked his sugar thinking it was low, and to our shock, it was over 600. We rushed him into Children's in Columbus, Ohio and they quickly began doing tests. Not only was his sugar 1280, yes, 1,280, but his kidneys weren't functioning correctly and his brain begun to swell.
We were sat down in a separate room, and told that the next 24 hours were critical. If Chase's kidneys begun functioning, and his brain swelling reduced, he would likely be ok. However, we were also told to prepare that we may not leave with him. I was 6 months pregnant with our second son, and the stress was overwhelming. I thought I was about to lose my first son, right as I was about to welcome my second.
The night was a long one, constant alarms going off, beeping of machines, and nurses in and out constantly. We never left Chase's side. Then, at 6 am, Chase woke up like nothing had happened and started pulling tubes off of his body and screaming "I WANT FOOD!!!!" My 2.5 year old son decided it was time to eat, and he wasn't going to be patient. After a few hours of additional tests, the doctors let him eat, and watch the three stooges.
There's Chase, on Valentines Day, eating his gigantic breakfast, watching the Three Stooges while his amazed parents, and astonished doctors looked on.
Chase is now 9, and while the memory of Valentines Day of 2011 is still very fresh in our memory, we haven't had a moment that scary since. Sure, he's had some pretty steep lows, he's been sick and it's knocked him down quite a bit. Everything is centered around diabetes, and his life, as well as ours, has had to adapted. He doesn't get to go to sleepovers. Coaches are always worried about his sugar, as well as teachers. His friends have had to learn the signs that something is wrong (and we are SO thankful for his bestie who keeps a close eye!), and we are always on high alert. Will he be ok on the football field? Will his pump malfunction today? Will he wake up tomorrow? These are VERY real concerns, as there are so many Type-1 Diabetics who never wake up.
So, this is why I chose the JDRF as my charity this year for Santa Minis. The JDRF, as well at the American Diabetes Association and Central Ohio Diabetes Association have been huge in our lives. We have raised money for the JDRF in the past, via yard sales, bake sales and a car wash. CODA sent Chase to Diabetes camp free of charge on year, and the ADA does an amazingly generous "Gift of Giving" Gala annually. These organizations do their best to raise awareness for diabetes, and I love to give back to them.
This year, we are donating $175 of every session to the JDRF, in order to help their fight against diabetes, and help fund their research so that hopefully, one day, my son can say he HAD diabetes.
We will have an amazing Santa there, and a setup for Family photos as well, so you can get the most out of your session. Not only do you get AMAZING photos of your kids and family, you always get to donate to an amazing cause!
If you are interested, the signup is below.
For more information on the Central Ohio JDRF click HERE
We hope to see you there on December 9th!
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